City of Witches Chapter 14

Siwoo's post-nut clarity lasted an incredibly long time.

Even though two days had passed since the incident in Taro Town, he was still clutching his head in frustration.

"Fuck, why did I do that?"

Of course, Odil and Odette were the ones who started it.

Siwoo had done nothing wrong except match the rhythm of the two apprentice witches.

It wasn't that he had any particular moral hang-ups, and if he felt guilty about deceiving the Twins and enjoying it, that would be a lie.

Saying he didn't feel good about it would also be a lie.

However, Siwoo was worried about something else entirely.

From the middle onward, Siwoo had actively deceived the Twins and gone along with their actions.

The problem was, looking back, this was an incredibly risky move.

If this incident were ever discovered in the future, there's a huge difference between defending yourself with, 'I was just tied up and taken advantage of!' and saying, 'I got so into it that I wanted a sloppy blowjob and told them to put my cock in their mouths.'

The former might be hard to survive, but the latter is a guaranteed death sentence.

Even if Siwoo were a Witch, they wouldn't let a depraved person who played with apprentice witches, who are practically like their own children, live.

"Still, it felt good."

He absentmindedly recalled what happened that day.

The dizzying ejaculation, the soft tongues of the Twins, and the hot oral mucosa.

Even now, the sensation occasionally revives like a phantom pain.

Siwoo flicked his growing dick and picked up the broom to finish cleaning his quarters.

There were no classes today, and no trivial work orders (disguised as harassment) from Amelia, so he finished his tasks by sunset.

He was cleaning the stable, a diligence ingrained in him over the past five years.

"What felt good?"

"Gah!"

"How noisy."

Siwoo jumped at the sudden sound of a giggling laugh.

"Hi? Been well?"

"Hello."

The unexpected visitors were Odil and Odette.

It had only been two days since they last met, as they hadn't attended any classes since that day.

Observing Amelia and the Twins, Siwoo realized that truly radiant people could change the atmosphere around them.

He almost mistook the shabby stable for a ballroom.

Completely identical appearances, the same hairstyle tied up in a bun, the same decorations, the same dress.

The charming figures of the two girls, both wearing mischievous smiles, were so strikingly similar that it created a strange sense of dissonance.

It seemed they had put all their effort into confusing Amelia today as well.

Whether they succeeded or not, no one knew.

"Wh-what brings you here?"

Siwoo held the broom at an angle, on guard.

Feeling guilty, he was at a loss for how to react.

"More importantly, what if someone sees you coming here so suddenly? This is the servants' quarters! What if someone gets suspicious?"

If the Twins, who had never privately contacted Siwoo before, suddenly visited his quarters, someone might find it suspicious.

That's why Siwoo was panicking.

"Suspicious? Did we do something bad?"

"Do you really live in such a shabby place...? Oh, I'm sorry..."

Unlike the relatively composed Odil, Odette seemed to have experienced culture shock upon seeing the animal stall-like quarters.

She looked confused.

Regardless of their different reactions, Siwoo wanted to usher the sisters out as soon as possible.

While they might be more flexible compared to Amelia, their lack of consideration for others' circumstances made them quintessentially witch-like.

"How rude. We came here bearing gifts, you know."

"Gifts?"

Odette gracefully handed Siwoo an elegant wooden box, while he still eyed them with suspicion.

It was moderately luxurious, the kind commoners might use as a jewelry box, but too plain for Odil's taste.

"What's this?"

"It's the compensation the shop owner sent for you the other day."

"Ah."

Come to think of it, that did happen.

Siwoo opened the box.

Inside was a small leather pouch bulging with silver coins, a bundle of battle magic paper that looked expensive at a glance, and a small bottle sloshing with liquid.

There was also a small note included.

[Siwoo, I feel terribly sorry about what happened the other day. I was so blinded by trivial gains that I forgot the most important virtue for a merchant: trust. I'm so ashamed I can't even lift my head. If it's alright, would you visit the shop again? I'd like to treat my life's savior to at least one meal.]

Though the letter wasn't long-winded, it felt sincere enough.

The shop owner must have realized it upon reflection, even if Siwoo hadn't noticed in the heat of the moment.

The fact that Siwoo had risked his life to stand up to a Witch for a swindler on the brink of death.

"Guess he had at least some sense of shame. There was a letter for me too, but I set it aside separately."

Becoming the protagonist of a heartwarming tale straight out of a fairy book felt somewhat satisfying.

"This is Magical Power, right?"

"More precisely, it's an item made in the joint workshop of the 'Emerald Tablet Society.' It's incredibly hard to obtain."

Odette gave a detailed explanation.

Siwoo lifted the bottle, carefully packaged among the bundle of battle magic paper to prevent breakage.

On the paper label was sealing wax certifying it was unopened and genuine.

Its contents were a clean, bright blue.

It was Magical Power of such high purity that even Witches used it for research.

Suppressing a smile that threatened to spread across his face, Siwoo asked.

"Is it really alright for me to take all of this?"

Odil waved her hand as if to say not to worry.

"It's fine, they're just trivial things to me. Why not use that money to fix up this pitiful house in the meantime?"

"Thank you very much."

Siwoo bowed his head.

This was truly a huge gain.

Not only did he receive the battle magic paper he desperately needed, but it was also Magical Power made by the 'Emerald Tablet,' the foremost alchemical society.

He had been worried about how to gather Magical Power after completing the Magic Circle.

The magic power concentrated in this amount of Magical Power would be more than enough to activate the Spell Formula Siwoo was creating.

"I'd like to offer you something in return, but... as you can see, this is a stable. I'll make good use of the items you delivered. Let me see you out now."

"Wait a moment."

Siwoo, who had been about to usher Odil and Odette out now that he'd gotten his reward, froze with his smile still plastered on.

Surely they weren't planning to conduct that sex education that wasn't even proper sex education here this time.

He would absolutely refuse and kick them out.

"That Magic you're making to open the Gate. Can I take a look at it?"

"Huh? There's no need for that."

What's this all of a sudden?It's true that having Odil, an apprentice witch worthy of the Countess's name, provide theoretical corrections would be of great help.

However, Siwoo found this sudden kindness unfamiliar.

Moreover, it was Odil's kindness, with some unknown ulterior motive...

"You've also been actively cooperating with us, haven't you? I'll help you escape. It's something already agreed upon with Odette."

"What do I need to do?"

Siwoo asked about the contract terms without hesitation.

As if pleased he wasn't being obtuse, Odil laughed boldly.

"Just as you expected. Come to the hideout in Taro Town every weekend from now on."

Of course.

There's no way she'd do something like that for free.

But that doesn't mean it's a complete loss either.

If Odil sets her mind to it, Siwoo has no right of refusal anyway.

It's a situation where he should be grateful even for the pretense of negotiating terms.

"Understood."

He moved aside the straw and opened the chest hidden beneath.

It's a magic theory book consisting of 228 sheets of paper, about the size of A4 paper.

Here, the calculation formulas for Siwoo to construct the Magic Circle, the blueprints of the Magic Circle, and expected values from thought experiments are densely written without a single gap.

"Here it is."

Odil, who took the paper filled with characters and formulas on both sides like a cheat sheet, momentarily wore a dazed expression.

Constructing a Magic Circle with a certain level of complexity is no different from composing a symphony.

Just as a grand symphony creates harmony from melodies producing different sounds—string instruments, percussion, woodwinds, brass, keyboards, etc.—magic must weave together various formulas, characters, and magic power to create beautiful harmony.

Could even the most genius composer create a symphony with their eyes closed?

Impossible.

Similarly, even a witch with an exceptional mind cannot create a Magic Circle of a certain scale entirely through mental calculation.

They meticulously design the form of the Magic Circle, complete the calculations, memorize it in their head, and then activate it.

Viewed this way, activating magic is similar to conducting.

Just as a conductor cannot merely memorize the piece, a witch also requires excellent conducting and adjustments for successful magic.

Anyway, what Siwoo diligently wrote down on paper over three years is the draft of the Magic Circle to open the Gate.

Once all calculations, segmented experiments, and conceptions were finished here, he planned to connect the battle magic papers into one to complete a massive Spell Formula.

Odil and Odette sat side by side, turning the pages of Siwoo's Magic Circle draft with serious expressions.

About three minutes passed?

Odil's hand, which had been turning the pages at a speed that made one wonder if she was really reading, stopped.

""This is unbelievable....""

Odil and Odette exclaimed simultaneously.

Siwoo, who had been anxiously wondering if the Magic Circle he worked so hard to create alone was actually crude, bowed his head and looked at the page the Twins were viewing.

It was the part of the calculation formula for distributing magical power into the precise amount needed to activate the Magic Circle in a state without a Brand, right after completing the outline.

"Is there some problem?"

Instead of Odil, who tightly closed her mouth and furrowed her brows, Odette answered.

"Is this really something Assistant Siwoo wrote?"

"Yes."

"Without anyone's help or corrections?"

"Yes."

"Alone, without anyone ever teaching you magic?"

"That's correct."

After the exchange of questions and answers, Odette let out a short sigh.

Leaving the bewildered Siwoo aside, the Twins sank deep into thought again.

"Um... is it that much of a mess?"

Siwoo felt uneasy.

The Magic Circle Siwoo ultimately designed to open the 'Gate' is a variable Magic Formula consisting of 6 synergies, n variations (flexibly changing according to various parameters), and 1 deployment.

540 Rune Characters of 34 types were used as magic power elements, and they were connected through about 258 'branches' between the Magic Circles to achieve high stability and flexible adaptation to variables.

Since such a large-scale Magic Circle couldn't be continuously tested and written, it was divided into 88 parts, written on battle magic papers, and errors were verified by activating them separately.

It worked fine back then.

Could there be a major problem when combining them into one?

His heart pounded at the thought that he might hear that his three years of effort were fundamentally futile.

"I can't understand it. How does this formula come about? It's like you skipped about three calculation steps..."

"Um... if it's not too rude, could I first ask what the problem is?"

Odil looked up at Siwoo with an expression of disbelief.

"Problem?"

Siwoo gulped.

"The fact that a male assistant is completing innate magic without a Brand?"

"Huh?"

Innate magic, out of nowhere?

"It's independent and innovative. An approach that breaks away from existing systems. Shall I be honest? I can't understand even half of it. Odette is the same."

"No? I understood about 55% of it."

He didn't even register Odette's indignant remark from the side.

"Structurally, it's perfect. The arrangement of the Rune Characters is also flawless. Right, you asked what the problem is? The biggest problem is that there's no way to calculate and verify this. Because it's your own innate magic, created by you for the first time."

Shaking her head as if utterly confused, as if she couldn't believe her eyes, Odil declared.

"Assistant, you're a genius. Ridiculously so."

"Though probably not more than us."

Odette added.

A Word from the Author (Author's Note)

If you enjoyed reading today, please give it a hearty recommendation!

It feels good to write something peaceful after a long time.